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EPISODE 8

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Taylor drove home in her car. Her mind was still whirling from the talk she had with Michiru and the weird feeling that rose inside her as the name Jonathan fell. "Jonathan? The one and only Jonathan Parker? No, that's impossible... and what if it is indeed him?"

The ringing of her cell phone interrupted any further thought in that direction.

"Hello?"

"Hi Taylor, it's Jack. My friend Peter is here and we are working on an idea. I want you to come over and have a look at it."

Taylor sighed. "I would if I could. Today is the big family dinner."

"Oh yeah, I forgot, sorry. Maybe tomorrow then. I'll keep you informed about what we come up with. Have fun. Bye."

"Yeah, bye," she replied and hung up.

*****

Liz was inhaling deeply the fresh breeze that blew gently from the sea and felt so nice and cool on her skin. This was a highly welcomed change to the otherwise sticky air that ruled in the jungle every day.

Sam pointed at a huge rock formation below the cliffs. "There are the caves."

Carefully, Liz peered over the edge. She could see huge waves that crashed against the sharp rocks in the water. "I don't see an opening. Where is the entrance, Sam?"

"We have to wait for low tide to enter the caves," the jungle woman explained. "As soon as the water reaches the lowest level, we will climb down a little path and then we can swim right in."

A scary thought made itself known immediately and wide-eyed Liz asked, "What will happen if we don't make it out until the high tide sets in?"

Sam laughed. "Do not worry, Liz. The actual cave is located higher in the rocks and until that point the water doesn't rise."

Liz rubbed her chin. "That's quite practical. No wonder that this place is your favorite and can serve as a hideout. Nobody will ever find that."

Waggling her eyebrows Sam replied, "Exactly. Shakira will stay around here to keep guard while we are in there."

*****

Sara had just gotten her present for Chris from the yacht and was about to drive to him, as William appeared next to her car.

"Hello William," she greeted him friendly. "I don't know if Chris told you already. Sadly, I cannot come to have dinner with you all today."

"That's not the reason why I'm here. I need to talk with you about something."

Sara looked at him, nonplused. "What is it?"

"Please, leave Christopher alone. Whatever was between the two of you, it's over. He belongs to Karen," the older man explained.

The photographer's confusion grew and she wrinkled her forehead. "What Karen?"

"Karen Miller," William answered and saw comprehension dawn on her features.

But after that, it was quickly replaced by anger. "I don't want to listen to that. If this horrible thing with Liz didn't happen, then Chris could have become clear of his feelings far sooner. I hope I have not lost him." With a quick "Bye" thrown over her shoulder, she left William standing there and drove off to Christopher's gallery.

*****

Dejectedly, Catherine, Jonathan and Victoria arrived back at their house.

Catherine exhaled sharply and said, "Finally, back home. I will order us something to eat."

Victoria rolled her eyes and niggled, "I lost my appetite." The little scene with Sara was still fresh on her mind and her inside was boiling with fury. The thought to eat something now made her stomach churn even more.

"You know, why don't you two go ahead and eat. There is a meeting that I should..."

Before Jonathan could finish his excuse Catherine scowled at him and he shut up. "Now you listen to me, both of you," the head of the Parker clan announced, dangerously calm, and that usually meant trouble if she didn't get her wish. "The 3 of us are going to have a wonderful family dinner tonight. Together. And I don't want to hear any complains or excuses anymore. We will meet in one hour at the dining room. End of discussion."

Both Vicky and Jonathan knew that they wouldn't be able to get out of it when Catherine was in such a sour mood.

While the model pouted, Jonathan's only thought was about Michiru. He would have to cancel his evening plans with her.

*****

Taylor stepped through the big entrance door of the Stuart house, but the only one, who greeted her, was Tasilo.

"Hey buddy," she said as he jumped at her. She made him sit. He obeyed and then she patted him and rubbed his head between his ears "Is anybody else home? Obviously, I'm the first. Great, that's something new." She put her car keys away, pulled off her shoes and went to the living room. The machine was blinking so Taylor pressed a button to hear, who had called. The first message was from her brother. "Hi, it's Chris. I have some stuff to do at the gallery. It can be late. By the way, Sara can't come either, she's feeling sick. Bye."

The next message was from her Uncle. "Hello, it's Uncle William. There is something important I have to do. I will be by later. You can start without me. Until then."

Taylor looked in disbelief at the machine. "I've got one awesome family," she grumbled. Annoyed, she picked up the receiver and dialed a number. "Hey Jack, it's me, Taylor. I can come by after all. Where do you live?... ah... ok... Santa Monica Beach... the last white house... yeah... ok. I will leave here now. Yes, till then."

She had just hung up as Karen came in, wearing a big smile on her face. "Hi Taylor. Ready to cook?"

"I was, but it seems the rest of this family is not interested. I'm driving over to Jack's, he has something important to show me and I'll take Tasilo with me. As for what the rest is doing, listen to the answering machine." She hugged Karen briefly. "I'm sorry, but I so have had it with this family for today!"

"I can understand that," the blonde replied and smoothed back the teenager's hair. "Are you still going riding with me tomorrow?"

"You can bet on that," Taylor responded.

They said goodbye and Taylor went with Tasilo to her car to drive to Jack.

Karen did as the girl had told her and listened to the answering machine. She decided it was time to have a talk with Chris, discussing where they stood with each other. Maybe it was possible to make up and get the whole mess out of the way.

*****

The butterflies in her stomach had turned to elephants. Sara walked into Christopher's gallery in the city.

Chris looked up as he heard the little chime and smiled warmly at the new arrival. "Hey Sara. You look much better than you did this morning."

She returned the friendly smile and responded, "Oh, I guess you have not seen those 3 tons of make-up that are covering my skin. I'm sure I must have looked quite a sight this morning."

The artist grinned. "So what, nothing can disfigure a beautiful face. Come here, have a seat."

"You know, I could get used to hearing compliments like this all day. Thanks," she said and sat down in a chair opposite him.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from you?"

Sara hesitated a moment. "I came here... well, the main reason is to say thank you... for getting me out of that club when you did."

Some cumulus clouds slowly made their way over a bright blue sky, while Sam and Liz were both day-dreaming away. They lay in high, soft grass and the panther Shakira had a watchful eye on them.

Liz turned over to rest on her belly and supported her head on one hand. She looked at the relaxed face of Samantha. "You know, Sam, in the beginning I thought I wouldn't be able to survive even one second when the plane crashed and I found myself here. But now, after several weeks in the jungle with you... I think I gathered new hope and now I can see my life in a complete different light."

Sam's blue eyes opened and Liz sat up to look directly into them. "You help me to survive and to open my heart..."

Tears were gathering in Sam's eyes and there was nothing she could do to stop them.

"... and to realize that I have to accept that there is a future for me. But to have that, I need to let go of the past. Everything I have left of my family are memories..." Liz broke up, because a sob was closing her throat and she couldn't speak. She was crying now too and gently Sam reached out and wiped the tear drops away. "I want to be your new family," she said huskily and Liz gave her a watery smile.

*****

Jonathan had retreated to his study and dialed the number of Michiru's apartment.

"Hello?"

"Hello, my lotus blossom."

"Rrrrr, my tiger. What's keeping you? You wanted to come over for dinner, remember? I prepared so many Japanese delicacies just for you... and most of all... myself for dessert..." she purred at the other end.

He pulled at the neck of his shirt that suddenly had become uncomfortably tight, feeling as if the room's temperature did just rise a few notches. "Uhhh... that sounds so great... but... I can't. Something came up at work that cannot be delayed. I truly am sorry, Michiru, because I so was looking forward to our evening together."

"Oh, that's too bad... if you knew what I'm wearing... or better yet... NOT wearing... then you would be here in the blink of an eye."

Jonathan bit down on his lips and swallowed hard. She sure was in a playful mood tonight. "Okay, tell me, how can I make it up to you?"

"Not at all," Michiru replied in a sing-song voice. "But... you could spend tomorrow morning with me."

Now he smiled. "Yes, I would like that."

"Maybe I will come up with a punishment too."

"Oh no, no. Believe me, that I cannot be with you right now is the greatest punishment ever."

"He is doing better," she assured him as she saw the horrified expression on his face. "But..."

"You would have been in the car with him," he finished her sentence, quietly.

Sara just nodded and pressed a roll into his hand. "Open it."

Chris opened the cardboard and unrolled the art print that was inside. A smile appeared on his features as he looked at a picture of himself and the panther statue. "Wow, the print really turned out great, " he praised.

"Well, couldn't be any other way, since the motive is such a great one."

"What? What do you want to say with that?"

Sara took a deep breath. "In my whole life I've never been so insecure like I am right in this moment here with you."

"I can't imagine that."

She looked at him, questioningly.

"I think, the one who gets to be with you can really call himself lucky, because there is nothing he would need to worry about."

Just in this moment Karen reached the gallery. She was about to open the door as her gaze fell to the window. There she saw Christopher and Sara together. Karen didn't know what to think about this situation, so she decided to observe them for a while.

Sara smiled. "That was nice what you just said." She took Christopher's hand and placed it over her heart. "Can you feel how hard it is beating? As if it is going to explode any second soon?" she whispered.

Confused, Chris wanted to pull his hand back, but Sara was determined to win him over.

She took both of his hands in hers and continued, "Do you remember what I told you last night? I meant it then and I mean it now, seriously. You have to know that I'm not really such a wild party girl... oh God, I'm sure you've got a complete wrong picture of me now..."

"Hey," he interrupted her softly. "I don't care about yesterday at all. I saw photos that you shot. Those pictures say more than a thousand words ever could. You are a very emotional person... just like I am."

Outside, Karen was looking through the window and seeing it all, unable to leave or to enter the gallery.

*****

Jack opened the door and smiled as he saw Liz' little sister standing in front of it. "Hey Taylor. Good to see you. What happened to the family dinner?"

The girl still felt remorse about that. "Everybody had something better to do," she grumbled. "Let's not talk about that anymore."

"Okay, come on in." He led her to the living room and Taylor's eyes nearly fell out of her head while her jaw was about to hit the floor upon seeing all the computers and technological gadgets lying around. "Wow. Is the whole Ministry of Defense in your living room?" she asked in astonishment.

Jack laughed, a bit embarrassed. "No, no. It's just that in my free time, what little there is, I like to play with the newest technology."

Taylor raised her eyebrows and whistled. "No kidding there."

He pointed to a place, which was covered with tons of wires, screens and several blinking and flashing things. "That was once my desk. Now Peter is laying under it. Hey Pete? Could you please let go of your wires for a second and greet our guest?"

A pale, small man with a balding head came crawling from underneath the desk. Shyly, he shook the teenager's hand. "Hello Taylor. Friends call me Pete."

Taylor was about to answer as Peter's eyes found Tasilo and he let loose a blood curling scream that sounded like that of a scared diva. "Uaaaaaaaaaaah!!! Don't let that beast get close to me!"

The girl was caught off guard. "What do you mean, beast? That's just Tasilo, my little dog."

Peter's eyes widened even more in fright and he hid behind Jack's muscled back. "LITTLE? Did you just say LITTLE?"

"He... uh... Peter is a little bit scared of dogs," Jack explained and reached back to grab one of Peter's arm to keep the man from bolting out of the room.

"Yeah, I can see that. But really, Tasilo is a nice dog. He will not do anything to you."

Peter peered at the German shepherd, who just sat next to Taylor and wagged his tail a little bit. "Please have mercy on me and go out with him to play. I need a bit more time to set up everything."

"Alright, come on Taylor, let's go with Tasilo to the beach," Jack chimed in and Peter looked relieved as he could turn back to his work because they left the house. "Thank you, thank you."

*****

Liz was still looking at Samantha. The last words of the brunette had made her heart skip a beat and now it was beating more strongly than ever before. "In my inner most, I have hoped that you would say that. Thank you so much, Sam. That means everything to me."

"Ever since Emily died, I was always wishing for a new family and then you came... just like an angel," Sam admitted.

"Like an angel?"

"Emily has told me a lot about them and I am sure that you are one." She tenderly brushed her hand over Liz' cheeks and her hair. "You have a tender, beautiful face and long, golden hair. Yes, Liz. You are an angel."

Liz couldn't say anything as she gazed into Sam's honest eyes, thinking to herself, 'No Sam. You are a true angel. So pure and innocent and completely unspoiled by the world.'

*****

In complete silence Catherine, Jonathan and Victoria sat in the dining room, having dinner. Catherine finally started a conversation. "We should not get so down because of Alexander's accident. Still, we have a company and it is working great."

Catherine rolled her eyes. "Would you please stop with that, Victoria! Why don't you go for a real man, who is successful and solid... like... uh... like Jack Carpenter, for example. He seems to be an emergent, young man."

"Catherine, I really think Vicky has to decide that for herself, as well as Jack."

The model jumped off her chair and glared at her mother while angry tears began to gather in her eyes. "That's right, Mother! You will not dictate whom I will chose to love! I'm not Alex!" Sobbing, she stormed out of the room.

Looking for help, Catherine gazed at her husband, "But I only want what's best for her."

Jonathan shrugged his shoulders.

*****

Sara bridged the last few inches between their faces and sealed Christopher's lips with a gentle kiss.

Outside, Karen couldn't watch it anymore. Her eyes became blurry from hot tears. "I knew it. Just why did I start to have feelings for him again. I've been so damn naive. We never fit together." Feeling dejected and crying, she went back to her car and drove home.

Christopher opened his eyes and Sara smiled at him. "You alone are in my thoughts, Chris. I don't want to go on living without you."

The artist was very moved by her love confession. He took her face between his hands and said, "You are so carefree. Not wasting one thought to the next day, do you?"

"Why should I? The world is ours. Nothing is holding us back! I will show you real freedom!" she declared.

He smiled and stroked her cheeks tenderly. "That's exactly what I find so fascinating about you," he replied and kissed her again.

*****

Taylor and Jack walked with Tasilo along the empty beach. After a while, they sat down while the big dog was having fun, frolicking in the water.

He looked at the girl, who stared at the waves, and decided it was time to have a talk. "Why don't you tell Dr. Jack what's bothering you?"

Taylor snorted. "Dr. Jack? Are you crazy? I have my life completely under control. Just everybody else is treating me as if I am a five year old... I hate that."

Jack rubbed his chin. "Maybe you need to give them time to realize that you have grown up."

"Right." The girl sighed. "And how long shall I wait? Until I'm old and gray?"

He laughed at that. "Hey, why don't we have a little swim."

Taylor blushed. "No thanks. I forgot my bathing suit."

"Well, I don't have one either."

The teenager blushed even more and turned her eyes away as Jack started pulling off his clothes. Inwardly, she prayed that nobody would see her.

"It's okay, I will leave my shorts on." Jack sprinted into the water and played a bit with Tasilo. "The water is really great, Taylor. Come on."

"I said NO!" she yelled back and went back to the house to fetch a towel.

*****

Samantha looked towards the sharp rocks again. "The time has come, look the water's surface is down to its lowest level. We can go now," she announced, excited that she could finally show the business woman her beloved caves.

Dexterously, she climbed ahead, leading the way down.

Liz followed her as best as she could, but the height made her a little dizzy. Half way down, she just couldn't go on and clawed her fingers deeply into the rough stone. "Sam!" she called out in her panic. "I can't go on! I think I might fall!"

"Don't move. Just stay calm, I'm coming to you," Sam assured her and climbed back as fast as she could to get to the frightened blonde.

More stones broke under Liz' weight and tumbled down into the water. Fiercely, the blonde held on to the rocky wall but that didn't provide enough hold.

*****

Taylor walked towards Jack and gave him the towel. "Here. I got this from the house."

Gratefully, the tall man took it, wiped his body as good as he could and wrapped it around himself. "Thanks."

"Peter said he is ready to show us his solution."

Completely wet, Tasilo stepped out of the ocean and shook himself, spraying everything that was too close to him.

Taylor had known that this would happen, so she had wisely stepped out of the way. Jack instead was now once more dripping wet. "I think you should have brought a towel for him too."

Taylor just grinned. She felt satisfied that Tasilo got Jack good for making her blush. "You know," she replied cheekily, "He likes to have his hair air-dried."

"Alright, let's go and see what Peter came up with. But before, I would like to tell you something."

The teenager didn't like the sound of that. "Uh oh, what's coming now?"

"Nothing bad. I'm going to go to New York for a bit to see Danielle. Besides, this is a good opportunity to get a little bit of distance from here."

Of course, she knew exactly what he was talking about and mentioned matter-of-factly, "So, are you running away?"

Jack was hurt. "Rubbish, I don't care about HER at all."

Taylor looked at him with an innocent expression. "I was not talking about anybody in particular."

"Let's change the subject. You are just too smart for me."

*****

Her hands and fingers were starting to cramp. Liz couldn't keep her grip on the rocks any longer. "I don't have enough strength, Sam," she sobbed.

Sam's heart was pounding wildly and she tried to get back to Liz even faster, without being reckless. "Please, you only have to hold on a few more seconds. I'm on my way. I'm nearly there. The heavy rains must have loosened the stones."

In her fear, the blonde tried to climb back the way they had come and she slipped. "I'm falling! SAM! AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Her blue eyes wide in terror, a scream tore from Sam's throat. "NOOOOO!!!"

*****

Back at the house, Jack and Taylor were welcomed by a highly contented and happy looking Peter. Tasilo was laying down and napping a bit on the porch.

"Tada, that is it," Peter announced proudly and held up a black case.

Taylor's face fell in disappointment. "That's all? A CD?"

"Now, before you get upset, let me explain. You put this CD into your computer and then you install the software that's on it. That can take a few hours, depending how fast your pc is."

"And then?" the girl asked with impatience clearly visible on her features.

Peter went on, "If you get an email from your sister you are going to open it over this installed program and after some time... sadly I cannot tell you how long it will take... it will show you the approximate source of that mail."

"What do you mean with 'approximate'?"

"Within a radius of 100 kilometers around the actual source, in our case the laptop," Peter explained.

Taylor's eyes widened. "100 kilometers?"

"I'm sorry but the signal of the laptop is too weak for the data to be more exact."

"Hey Taylor, don't get down," Jack chimed in. "What are 100 kilometers compared to the whole distance between Japan and New Zealand?"

"You are right, Jack. Thank you, Peter. For all your help."

The man gave her the CD and smiled shyly. "You're welcome."

"I owe you big."

"Now, don't get carried away. Let's see first if it works. Call me as soon as you've got anything. And before I forget... you both have to keep this to yourself. If it gets out that I was using this state defense technology for private matters..."

Taylor laughed. "Oh, don't worry. Your secret is safe with us." She turned to go and get Tasilo. At the moment, she wanted nothing more than to go home and see how this would work.

Peter called her back. "One more tip... don't forget to open the email on the pc you installed the software on or else the data is lost."

"I'll be sure to remember that."

*****

Karen sat on the couch in her living room, hugging a pillow tightly to her chest. Unstoppable tears were running down her cheeks. "Oh God, I've been so stupid! Why, oh why did I have to trust him again? I should have known better!" Angrily, she threw the pillow across the room, where it came to rest in a corner.

Imitating Chris, she grumbled, "Give us a second chance, Karen. Sara and I are only friends. She's helping me to keep Victoria Parker off of me."

The blonde woman stared at the ceiling. "How could I have been so damn stupid?! I let him into my heart again and he has nothing better to do than to rip it out and stomp on it! But that was the last time."

Karen got up and went into the kitchen to fix herself a drink. She came back with a big glass of Gin Tonic and got comfortable in front of the TV. After a few moments of channel surfing though she gave up and switched it off. "I can't believe it. I get my heart broken and everywhere are only cheesy love movies on."

She grabbed her glass off the table and decided to head to bed. "At least, I'm going riding tomorrow with Taylor. That will take my mind off things."

The first thing her eyes fell on when she entered the bedroom was a framed picture of a smiling Chris on the nightstand. Scowling, she stuffed it into a drawer.

*****

Sara had already gone home as the phone rang in the gallery. Chris answered it absent-minded, because his thoughts were still circling around the photographer. "Hello?"

"Hi, it's your Uncle Will."

Christopher got mad as he heard William's voice. "What's the meaning of this? Some kind of checking if I'm really at the gallery? Are you spying on me now?"

William was taken aback by his nephew's angry tone, but then he exploded too. "I really don't know what's up with you lately?! What is the problem?!"

"You! You are my problem! You are no longer my guardian but you are trying to control my life!"

"Well, you will be glad to hear then that I will fly back today. There are some problems with the bar and I need to go back to Scotland. Oh, and if you could let go of your love interests once in a while then maybe you could find some time to take care of your little sister!"

Chris was on a roll, as well as his Uncle. "Taylor is fine! We get along very well. We don't need you!"

"Fine Christopher. You really want us to part in anger? Have it your way then!"

The next thing the artist heard was a dial tone for William had just hung up. Glaring darkly, he smashed the receiver down too. "Damn stubborn Scotsman! That's just great, he managed to make me feel twinges of remorse!"

*****

Liz' hands were flailing for something to hold on. Shortly before it was too late, they found the root of an old gnarled tree and closed around them. "SAAAAAAM!!!"

The jungle woman had seen her fall and had thought it was already too late. New hope flared up inside her as she saw Liz holding on to that part of the tree. Once again, she made her way carefully towards the blonde.

Both their hearts were pounding wildly and out of control and the panic was clearly visible on both their faces.

Having heard the screams, Shakira was pacing restlessly along the cliffs, clearly distressed.

Finally, Sam had reached Liz. "Everything is okay. You are safe. Hold on to me."

But Liz was too scared. "No! If I let go, I'm going to fall!"

"Shhhh, Liz. I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you." With one hand and her feet she held on to the rock wall and with the other she pulled Liz towards her. "Trust me. Please, trust me. Nothing will happen to you. You are safe with me."

Whimpering, the blonde let go off the root and wrapped her arms around Sam. And there it was again. This feeling of warmth, safety and security. "Oh Sam," she sobbed and a dozen of different emotions were coursing through her all at once. She tightened the hold she had on the brunette's body.

"That's it, just hold on to me. Everything is going to be fine." Sam said quietly, calming her down. "We are climbing back up."

A nervous panther greeted them as they were back on the cliff.

"Come on, Shakira. We are going back home."

By now Liz had wrapped her arms around the jungle woman's neck and her legs around her waist. It didn't look like she would be able to let go any time soon. She tightened the grip, which she had on Sam, once more, causing the brunette to gently stroke her back. "Everything is okay, angel. Just hold on, I'll carry you."

So they made their way back, but Sam grew even more alarmed as she felt Liz starting to tremble in her arms.

*****

Beaming with happiness Taylor returned home, Tasilo following close behind her. She barely made it through the door, nearly falling over the two suitcases that were standing in the entrance area. "Uncle Will?" she called out.

William came from the living room. "Ah good. There you are."

Taylor looked at him questioningly. "Are you leaving and going back already?"

"Sadly, I have to. There are some problems at the bar."

"Why? What's wrong?"

Her Uncle sighed. "As it looks like, I left it to some incompetent idiot and now there are some problems with a blackmailer, who's breathing down my back. But don't worry. I'm going to take care of it. If there is something up or you need me, then please don't hesitate to give me a call, okay?"

The teenager nodded."I will do that, Uncle Will. Hey, I also have some great news. It can be that Jack, Peter and I found a way to get L..."

She didn't get to finish her sentence because in this moment the door bell rang.

"Oh, that's my cab. I gotta go. Take care, little one and be nice."

The last few words made Taylor roll her eyes. "I'm always nice."

He placed a little kiss on her forehead, stroked Tasilo between his ears one last time, grabbed his suitcases and left the house to get into the cab.

Taylor waved until the yellow car was out of sight and then she went back inside the house. She took her backpack and climbed up the stairs to her room. Digging out the CD with one hand, she switched on her computer with the other and waited until it had booted. "Okay then, let's see what this thing can do, right Tasilo?"

The dog barked and wagged his tail furiously.

Taylor put the CD in the drive and started to install Peter's program. "That's going to take a while he said, so, I guess I can play a little Playstation since there is only stupid stuff on TV anyway. Besides, I'm really wondering if my brother is going to show his face today at all. He needs to know that the chances to find Liz just rose again. I hope this will work. I honestly am at the end of my rope and don't know what else we could try if this fails."

*****

Juan was greatly surprised. Opening his door, he found Victoria in front of it.

"Hello, my darling! I'm back from the city of love!" She announced and giggled. She didn't wait for him to ask her inside, she just walked in and made herself comfortable on the couch in his living room.

He blinked and called after her, "Uh... Vicky? Is there a special reason why you are here?"

"To tell you the truth... yes," the blonde model admitted.

Juan leaned against the frame of the living room door and looked at her in anticipation. "Well, then let's hear it."

"I know, I know. When we saw each other the last time it wasn't so good."

"To put it mildly," he muttered, but she heard him.

"I thought I would give us a second chance."

"Before you went away, you slapped me across the face and you threw some mean words at me," Juan pointed out. "With somebody like that I don't want a relationship, because I'm a peace-loving person."

She turned her sad puppy-dog-look on him, in the hopes that it would help. "I'm truly sorry about that."

"Vicky, the answer is no!" Juan responded firmly. This time he would not back down. "Save your constant mood swings and bitchy attitudes for somebody else. I have enough of it." He saw her lips starting to tremble and knew exactly what would follow next.

And there they were. Big crocodile tears spilled from her doe-brown eyes. "Am I not attractive to you anymore? Is there someone else in your life?"

"Could be."

"Who is she?!" the model demanded to know.

"It's none of your business, Victoria. It's over between us. I want you to leave my apartment, now."

"Is that your last word?"

He looked at her firmly so that she could see it on his face. "Yes. You live your life and I live mine."

The tears were streaming down her face. Still, she held her head proudly high and with a loud bang the door shut behind her.

Once in her car, she sobbed, "I feel so humiliated. How dare this pompous hip swinger talk to me like that. It's not over. Not by a long shot!"

*****

Jack stuffed the rest of his things into his travel bag and closed the zipper on it. "Alright, I think I've got everything. The flight is booked, I got the ticket, the cab comes tomorrow morning to drive me to the airport and then I'm off to New York. The Big Apple is waiting for me. Too bad I had to lie to Catherine to get some vacation time but how does the saying go? What she doesn't know, won't bother her, or something like that. As soon as Danielle is back, the Parkers sure will have some explaining to do. Especially Alex! Oh, that reminds me. I better not forget my cell phone in case Taylor calls with news about Liz."

It was fully charged and he put it beside the flight ticket on the nightstand. "So, and Sara Jones will just be wiped from my memory. Let her become happy with Christopher, Alexander or whomever. I made such a fool out of myself, but that's over now. Other mothers also have beautiful daughters and Sara Jones is not the only attractive woman running around in the world. Take Victoria for example, now she has style and grace and class. Doesn't matter, I don't have time for a relationship at the moment anyway. I have to completely concentrate on Dani. So then, adios, Sara Jones. I will not continue following you around like a lost puppy only to have you walk all over me!"